Tree cutting back on at Ivy Lea Campground

IVY LEA – The sound of chainsaws will once again be heard in the Ivy Lea Campground starting today (Monday) after a third-party review of the park commission’s tree cutting work.

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission (SLPC) said Friday, a review by a master arborist “essentially concurs” with its conservation authority management plan to cut as many as 300 trees in the park.

The review was launched last month after neighbours complained about not being notified of the plan and accusing the commission of cutting down perfectly good trees. The SLPC placed a moratorium on cutting until this review.

The commission hired Logan Tree Experts of Peterborough, Ont. to look at the already felled trees and the ones about to be taken down.

According to the commission, Logan found that two trees had been cut down unnecessarily. Based on the review, 75 trees have been identified for removal and roughly 35 will be removed starting this week.

The work is being done by Eco Tree Care.

“There were some instances where trees originally identified as moderate to low risk with a corrective action to monitor in the SCNA (South Nation Conservation Authority) report, are now considered to be moderate to high risk with increased remedial actions recommended in the Logan Tree Experts report,” the commission stated.

The SLPC plans to plant other species to fill in the tree canopy.

The park is still planning to have the work done in time for the campgrounds to be open to visitors May 12.